Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training | 
 enlarge | Author: Karen Pryor
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $5.94
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Avg. Customer Rating:  103 reviews
Sales Rank: 7799
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7
MPN: 553380397
ISBN: 0553380397
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.85
EAN: 9780553380392
ASIN: 0553380397
Publication Date: August 3, 1999
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Product Description
The Laws of Learning in the real world. "Whatever the task, whether keeping a four-year-old quiet in public, housebreaking a puppy, coaching a team, or memorizing a poem, it will go fast, and better, and be more fun, if you know how to use reinforcement." -- Karen Pryor. Physically larger than the previous edition, this revised edition is easier to read with its larger type and pages. It also adds a chapter on Clicker Training: A New Technology. Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and through numerous fascinating examples reveals how this art can be applied to virtually any common situation. And best of all, she tells how to do it without yelling, threats, force, punishment, guilt trips---or shooting the dog. (Paperback, 202 Pages)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 98 more reviews...
 Oh no. Please, no. May 10, 2008
Please, tell me the author is not so uneducated that she doesn't know the difference between a reinforcer and a punishment! Holy Toledo! On page one she says, "A reinforcer is anything that, occurring in conjunction with an act, tends to increase the probability that the act will occur again." OK, so far, so good.
But then she says on the same page, "A negative reinforcer is something the subject wants to avoid..." Uh, not true. You fail even my undergrad course on behavioral principles.
A negative reinforcer is STILL A REINFORCER! It still increases the chance of said act recurring. Ms. Pryor has made the same stupid mistake of thinking that "negative reinforcer" is the same as "punishment." No, no, no!
A negative reinforcer is taking away a noxious stimuli, not adding one. It's really a basic issue, and one that is SOOOOO misunderstood and wrongly stated in the popular press. The noxious sound of the buzzer ringing because you didn't put your seat belt on is ONLY a negative reinforcer if you find it reinforcing to have the sound stop. The stopping is the key, not the addition of the sound. We are talking + versus -, not a smiley face versus a frowny face. Please, correct this horrible error, Ms. Pryor!
I haven't gotten all the way through the book, but what I was hoping to be a pleasant adjunct to a class certainly can't be used as one given the flat-out wrong information in it. It may be good for dog training (and I hope it is), but when you see such an egregious mistake on the first page of text, it doesn't bode well.
 Recommend it to everyone. May 5, 2008
I've read the reviews on this book. The 1-star reviews all seem to come from either dog training companies who view it as competition, scientologists who reject the whole field of psychology, angry individuals who didn't read the product description, or individuals whose worldview is threatened by the idea that our behavior is influenced by external stimuli.
"Don't Shoot the Dog" is the NAME of the book. It's not a dog training book. It's written for HUMANS. It's a book about the simple principles of operant conditioning which influence behavior. Pryor never makes any claims which are not strongly scientifically supported. She provides simple practical instruction for utilizing science to shape behavior. I recommend this book to so many people, I cannot count them. I do NOT recommend self-help books, as a rule. THIS however is solid science with solid evidence behind it being presented in an open, honest, and incredibly helpful way.
If you want warm-fuzzy yet ultimately hollow language to make you believe you have a spiritual connection with your pets or that you really are accomplishing your goals for change by repeating them in your head fifty times a day while wearing knee-high socks, go for one of the fifty million "self-help" books out there.
If you want actual scientifically supported methods for creating actual change, this book is for you.
My Dog is Really Smart Now February 22, 2008
After reading this book, I used the methods described to teach a very stubborn dog to sit, lay down and rollover in one afternoon. Easy to read, great examples, and applicable to human beings!
Theory and practice of animal behavioral training December 12, 2007
Many books show you methods of training and "how to" train an animal to do something. This book explains why those methods work, common pitfalls when training animals, and real world examples of training. Pryor created an invaluable resource for training animals from theory to practice in all animals.
 Don't shoot the Dog December 2, 2007
Just what I was looking for! Not only helpful for dog owners but also for anyone interested in personal interactions with family, co-workers or friends in general!
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